Kallas Warns Europe of Russia's 'Trap' in Ukraine Talks

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on 13 November that Russia is trying to draw Europe into negotiations on the continent's security architecture, steering them away from the main demand — a ceasefire in Ukraine. She said this to journalists ahead of an informal meeting of EU leaders in Dublin.

Kallas said that in this situation there is "one aggressor and one victim," and clarified that no one has ever attacked Russia, whereas Russia itself attacked others.

According to her, if Europe begins discussing Moscow's demands on security architecture, it "will fall into the traps Russia is setting." Kallas insists on an agreed sequence: first a ceasefire, then a peace agreement, and only after that broad talks on security architecture. "There must be a ceasefire first," she stressed, calling a halt to hostilities the first test of Moscow's readiness for peace.

The trigger was that Russia has revived large-scale security demands dating back to 2021, when Moscow demanded limits on NATO's military presence and activity in Eastern Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed these demands in talks with US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Thursday. Putin also warned against the deployment of European troops in Ukraine as part of post-war security arrangements.

Kallas said Russia is putting forward its maximum demands, and that is why she, together with the EU foreign ministers, has prepared European maximum demands. According to her, since Moscow starts negotiations from the maximum, Europe must do the same, "so that these are real negotiations."

She also rejected Moscow's attempts to influence who will represent Europe at the negotiating table. Kallas noted that although the Russians do not want her, Europe itself decides who represents it. By her account, Moscow "does not want anyone strong on the other side" and seeks to push through its maximum demands, as it has done throughout the conflict. "That is not for them to decide," she added.

Kallas recalled that EU leaders had already agreed back in 2024 on who represents the bloc in the field of foreign policy and security. "I do not represent myself. I represent 27," she said. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal had earlier come to her defense, stating that Putin should not have a say in who speaks on behalf of Europe.

Kallas also welcomed Jared Kushner's acknowledgment that European governments must be involved in the implementation of any agreement between Russia and Ukraine.